Research: removing chromium from leather waste for poultry feed

A research project has received funding for a pilot
study on the removal of highly carcinogenic chromium from the leather wastes
that are used in the manufacture of poultry feed.

The Tamil Nadu State Council for Science and Technology, Chennai, has
awarded the Rs1.10-lakh research project to Dr P.N. Sudha, Professor of
Chemistry, Dhanabagyam Krishnaswamy Mudaliar College for Women, Vellore.

According to Dr. Sudha, the two-year project is aimed at the removal of
chromium from leather wastes through a cost-effective method.

Leather shavings, owing to high protein content, are often used in the
manufacture of poultry feed, along with corn flour. It was found, after an
analysis of the poultry feed collected from different chicken shops, that the
samples contained very high concentration of chromium. Chickens that ate the
feed were often found to have high levels of chromium in different parts of the
body.

Land filling of leather wastes caused pollution of the environment since
leaching of the wastes resulted in polluting the land and the water resources in
the vicinity. The use of the leather wastes as chicken feed was a good
alternative, provided the chromium and other toxic substances were properly
removed, she said.